Road Melts from Yellowstone Volcano's Heat

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Yellowstone National Park closed a popular road Thursday (July
10) after geothermal heat cooked the asphalt.

Part of Firehole Lake Drive, a scenic one-way road off of
Yellowstone's main loop, was shut down for repairs when oil
bubbled to the surface, damaging the blacktop, the Park Service
said in a
statement. The closure doesn't affect the Grand Loop Road,
which sees 20,000 visitors per day during the summer.

Hottle noted that the road problems do not mean the volcano is
showing signs of an impending eruption. "The supervolcano is not
going to blow," he said.

Road closures from heat damage aren't unusual in Yellowstone,
which has more than 10,000 geothermal features and 500 geysers.
The park has previously closed Firehole Lake Drive for repairs
due to heat damage, Hottle said. "This road has had this
particular issue in the past, but it doesn't happen too often,"
he said.

The Park Service plans to work on repairs through the weekend,
and hopes to reopen the road by early next week, Hottle said.

Within the next five years, the Park Service also plans to
relocate a part of Grand Loop Road that takes visitors past
Frying Pan Spring. "That area of the road is always buckled up
and being repatched and repaired, so we're moving it away from
the thermal area," Hottle said.